


Unbreakable

by fractionallyfoxtrot



Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Bigotry & Prejudice, Established Relationship, Hurt/Comfort, Multi, Polyamory
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-11-03
Updated: 2015-11-03
Packaged: 2018-04-29 17:42:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,579
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5136827
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fractionallyfoxtrot/pseuds/fractionallyfoxtrot
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Leon, Gwaine, and Percy are forced to reassess their relationship after Gwaine is fired from his upcoming job.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Unbreakable

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the prompt 'unbreakable' from [this meme](http://fractionallycamelot.tumblr.com/post/126325024951/why-not-send-me-a-character-or-pairing-along-with) requested by the lovely [tracionn](http://tracionn.tumblr.com/).

Today had not been a good day.

Leon watched Gwaine pace, barking into his mobile as he argued with someone on the other end, anger visible in his every movement. Leon was angry too, of course, but unlike Gwaine his first instinct wasn’t to shout at the world. He was more concerned with damage control; one Leon’s fears had manifested in reality and they needed to figure out what that meant for Gwaine, Percy, and himself.

More importantly they needed to figure out what that meant for them as a unit.

Today was supposed to be Gwaine’s first day as lead photographer on a big photoshoot for one of the papers. The photos were going to run in a special city feature, a four part piece highlighting the history and changing face of some of London’s most prominent neighborhoods. It was one of the biggest jobs Gwaine had landed to date, definitely the most prestigious, and it would’ve put his name and his work out there for hundreds of thousands of people to see.

Unfortunately when Gwaine turned up to the shoot he was told that his services were no longer required.

Leon was a little fuzzy on the details after that, having had the story relayed to him by three different people, all telling varying and occasionally conflicting versions of the events. Gwaine may or may not have cursed at a newspaper executive; he also may or may not have exchanged physical blows with one of the equipment assistants when he was asked to leave the shoot. Leon wouldn’t be surprised if both were true. Only two things remained constant in all three retellings. The first being that Freya - Gwaine’s assistant, who had been promised her own credits on the photos - stood by him and made a very public show of walking off the job with him.

The second was that Gwaine had lost the job because of their relationship.

Percy appeared in the doorway to the bedroom, having volunteered to take Freya home, and shrugged out of his jacket as he watched Gwaine snarl between ending one call and starting another. He looked to Leon, nodding his head towards Gwaine’s frenetic pacing.

Leon cleared his throat. “Gwaine-“

“It’s one of those bastards at _Chimera_ ,” Gwaine growled, naming a magazine he’d done a shoot for about a month ago. He hung up on whoever he’d been trying to speak to and started texting forcefully, still pacing along a tight track at the foot of the bed. “I know it is. That smug arse of an editor was asking way too many questions.”

“Gwaine.”

“He probably did this because I didn’t give him the prints.”

“Gwaine,” Leon said a third time, finally succeeding in getting Gwaine’s attention. He stopped pacing, his eyes sharp when he turned them on Leon, his mobile clenched in his hand. “You were right not to give him those prints.” Percy nodded in agreement from the doorway. “He didn’t pay you.”

“That doesn’t stop him from trying to drag my name through the mud,” Gwaine said, looking back at his mobile and starting to pace again. “Although most people do it by talking about how shit you are to work with, not by dragging your personal life into the light.”

Leon stood up and stepped into Gwaine’s path, grabbing him tightly by both arms to stop him.

“Gwaine, if Percy and I are the problem, then-“

Gwaine pushed back out of Leon’s hold. “No.”

“I didn’t even-“

“There’s _no_ good way to end that sentence,” Gwaine argued. “You and Percy are _not_ the problem, Leon. Other people are the problem and I’m not going to let other people tell me how to live my life! And neither should you,” he added, marching forward to poke Leon in the chest.

Leon immediately felt remiss at even the thought of suggesting that the best plan of action was to back down, to end their relationship for the betterment of their individual lives; their relationship _was_ for the betterment of each of their lives. They’d done nothing wrong. Someone else was using a decision they’d made for themselves as a reason to disrupt Gwaine’s career simply because they were different. It was cheap and cowardly and giving in was hardly the appropriate response.

Perhaps Gwaine was right to shout at the world.

Leon reached for Gwaine’s arm again, gently pulling him closer to touch a hand to his face.

“You’re right,” he said, sliding his arm around Gwaine’s waist when he dropped his head. “I’m sorry for even thinking it.” Leon pulled Gwaine into a hug, catching sight of Percy coming into the room before he tucked his face into Gwaine’s hair. “I just… hate seeing this happen to you because of us.”

“It’s just a job,” Gwaine mumbled into Leon’s chest.

He pulled back, meeting Leon’s eyes with a softer gaze than before, all his earlier anger replaced by the worry and anxiety Leon had been feeling since Percy called him from the shoot. Gwaine had the same fears, the same questions about how they were supposed to respond, he was simply better at refusing to compromise what he believed in. Leon kissed Gwaine’s forehead, then his lips when Gwaine lifted his chin, regretting his words more with every touch.

Gwaine never would’ve considered backing down; he was braver than Leon in every sense of the word.

“It’s just a job,” Gwaine repeated softly, letting his hand slide down from where it’d wound itself around Leon’s neck to settle on his chest. “I need you,” he looked at Leon, then over his shoulder for Percy, pulling Percy to them with a tug on his shirt, “a hell of a lot more than I need some fucking job.”

“You have us,” Percy promised, Leon nodding as he spoke for both of them. He wrapped one arm around them, cupping Gwaine’s face with his other hand. “You always have us.”

Percy leaned in to kiss Gwaine, turning him in Leon’s arms as Leon pressed his hand to Gwaine’s heart, whispering reassurances in his ear: that they loved him, they loved being with him, and they wouldn’t let anyone tear them apart. Gwaine grasped blindly at him, caught between Leon and Percy’s bodies, snagging Leon’s collar and turning his head to kiss him as Percy trailed down along his neck. Leon felt Percy’s hands moving between them, sliding along Gwaine’s stomach and under his clothes, and he pulled away from Gwaine’s whine to assist with getting Gwaine into their bed.

The embrace didn’t escalate into sex, despite the shedding of most of their clothes. Leon and Percy followed Gwaine’s lead once they had him in bed, neither advancing their touches as Gwaine didn’t seem to need more than to lie between them, trading kisses, content in the three of them simply being together. They readjusted themselves once or twice, eventually settling with Percy propped up among pillows against the bedhead and Leon tucked in against his chest, petting Gwaine where he lay across his lap.

They lay together in relative quiet for a while, each reevaluating the day’s events in their own minds.

Leon cleared his throat before breaking the silence.

“Remember that trip we talked about taking?”

Gwaine and Percy turned to look at him, Gwaine tilting his head back under Leon’s hand.

“What about it?” he asked.

“Now might be a good time to go, don’t you think?” Leon asked, pushing back Gwaine’s fringe. “Your schedule’s cleared up,” Gwaine tensed but Leon kept talking, gently carding his fingers through Gwaine’s hair, “I’m in between projects, and Percy’s still on break for another month. We could get away.” He refrained from adding ‘from all this’ but he knew they heard it regardless. “Just the three of us.”

“That sounds nice,” Percy said with a smile.

Gwaine rolled over, pushing up onto his knees facing Leon. “Where would we go?”

“France?” Leon shrugged.

They’d talked about it before. There was a traveling exhibit at one of the museums that Gwaine wanted to see, Leon had a basic handle on the language, and Percy had never been; it seemed like a good choice.

Gwaine smiled at the suggestion and Leon felt the last of his worries finally unwind. It’d only been hours since he last saw Gwaine smile - less than half a day, they’d all had breakfast together before Leon went to work - but after the day they had it felt like he’d gone weeks without it. Gwaine moved up the bed and Leon couldn’t resist pressing a kiss to the smile lighting up his face.

“Do they have nude beaches in France?” Gwaine asked with a familiar leer.

Leon rolled his eyes as Percy nodded, adding unhelpfully, “I think they do.”

Gwaine dove over the side of the bed, retrieving the tablet he kept under the bed frame no matter how many times Leon advised against it, determined to confirm or deny the existence of nude beaches in France. He draped himself over Leon and Percy, his head hanging off Percy’s lap, his knees bent over Leon’s, conferring with Percy as they held the tablet between them.

Leon considered chiming in, stating for the record that he had no intention of spending their entire holiday traipsing up and down the French coast, but he decided against it.

It really didn’t matter what they did, where they went, or why they were going.

All that mattered was that they were together.


End file.
